drug

Two mothers whose children have been affected by sodium valproate have urged the government to compensate victims

Two mothers have claimed they weren’t warned of possible birth defects after taking an epilepsy drug.

Emma Murphy was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 12 and was medicated with sodium valproate, which she used throughout her pregnancies after “no warnings” of possible harm to her unborn babies were given.

Emma’s five children have now been diagnosed with various medical conditions, including deafness and cerebral palsy. Appearing on Tuesday’s (November 3) instalment of BBC Breakfast, Emma appeared alongside Janet Williams as they urged the government to compensate families impacted by the use of sodium valproate during pregnancy.

Emma told hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent: “There were no warnings given by healthcare professionals. We were informed there was a possibility of cleft lip or palate, maybe spina bifida, but that would be picked up on any scans we had and we were reassured by that.

“But there were no warnings regarding a syndrome that it would cause autism or lifelong disability, and I have got five children affected now. It’s just completely devastating.”

Explaining how sodium valproate has affected her own five children, Emma added: “There’s a diagnosis of autism, cerebral palsy, deafness, incontinence, sensory processing disorder, language difficulties, learning disabilities, it is a huge spectrum that has completely devastated not just my family, but thousands of families in the UK.”

Sodium valproate, which is also used to treat bipolar disorder, can cause physical harm in the womb, and children can be born with a cleft palate and spina bifida, as well as neurodevelopmental disorders.

The medicine now carries warnings about use during pregnancy, with the NHS website stating: “Sodium valproate is not recommended in pregnancy, as it can cause birth defects and problems with your child’s learning and behaviour. If there’s a chance you could become pregnant while taking this medicine, your doctor will enrol you on Prevent, the valproate pregnancy prevention programme.”

Mum-of-two Janet was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 16 and was also prescribed sodium valproate. However, after giving birth, her son suffered from withdrawal symptoms and was taken down to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

“We knew nothing about it, we had nothing explained to us, so just him going down to NICU was a worry. They eventually explained to us about the withdrawals but nothing was said to us about the syndrome”, Janet confirmed.

When she welcomed her second son into the world, she was met with the same heartbreak as he was also taken down to NICU as he suffered from withdrawals.

Janet later received a letter confirming it was the Epilim, which is a brand name for sodium valproate, that had caused her children to be unwell. Both sons have been diagnosed with autism.

Jon asked: “How do you know it’s the drug, Emma? There are some children who will have the conditions and symptoms that your kids have got. How do you know it is the drug that is to blame?”

Emma replied: “There is a definitive syndrome now called Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder, and we know it is that that causes this.”

She also urged Andy Burnham to meet with her and help the victims get justice and compensation. Jon pointed out that while the Prime Minister is in a position of power, there are other “scandals” including “nuclear test victims, the blood scandal, the Post Office scandal”, that also require compensation, and there is “not much money”.

Jon said: “The government says it’s working on it, there has been a huge report. They say they’re going through that, making progress but they haven’t yet made a decision on how to provide financial redress.”

Emma and Janet are both starring in the upcoming BBC documentary Mums v Big Pharma, which airs on November 9, and details a decades-long campaign by British mothers against drug companies, doctors, and the government.

The Department of Health said the Government was determined to make progress on its response to the Hughes report, adding it was clear those affected have already waited far too long for answers. A decision has not yet been made to provide financial redress, it added.

A statement from Sanofi, the pharmaceutical company behind Epilim, said: “Sanofi understand the concerns of persons affected by valproate and their families and their need to be heard. The use of valproate in pregnancy is an incredibly complex issue that involves many different parties including government, regulators, doctors and other prescribers, pharmacists, manufacturers, patients, and other people affected.

“The supply of valproate, an essential medicine used to treat serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, is subject to detailed regulatory requirements and supervision by the regulatory authority. We have provided information to the regulatory authorities, under their supervision and in accordance with their evaluation and decisions, information has been given to healthcare professionals and patients that reflect the evolution of scientific knowledge.

“We are committed to working with all concerned stakeholders to continue educating about the risks and precautions for the appropriate use of valproate.”

BBC Breakfast airs 6:30am on BBC One and iPlayer

AstraZeneca (AZN) said its experimental stomach cancer treatment doubled survival time in a late-stage clinical trial, strengthening prospects for a medicine the British drugmaker estimates could generate as much as $5 billion in annual sales.

The drug, sonesitatug vedotin, also known as

Amman, Jordan – Jordanians fear the country’s border with Israel is turning into a major drug-smuggling route amid a surge in high-tech operations by gangs using drones and helium-filled balloons.

Organised networks active in southern Israel’s Negev Desert have links to groups in Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, operating along one of the most heavily surveilled borders in the world, with Jordanian authorities increasingly concerned about the implications this could have for the kingdom.

This escalation coincides with changes in the regional drug trade, particularly after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

Elements in his regime were linked to the manufacturing and distribution of Captagon, an illegal amphetamine stimulant.

Syria became a hub for the distribution of Captagon to the Gulf, with Jordan a transit point and market for the drug. The Royal Jordanian Air Force carried out periodic strikes on drug manufacturing and smuggling points inside Syria, highlighting the huge security concerns Jordan had about the trade.

Since the collapse of the Assad government and the establishment of a new authority that views the Captagon trade as a national security issue, there has been a decrease in the drug trade from Syria into Jordan.

Although Druze militias in the Syrian province of Suwayda allegedly linked to Israel have been accused of continuing the drug trade, Jordanian security forces are increasingly focused on the Jordan-Israel border.

The use of quadcopter drones and balloons is reportedly among the new tactics used by gangs in Israel to smuggle hashish, crystal meth, and amphetamines into Jordan.

Jordanian security forces are said to be increasingly unhappy with the scale of the drug smuggling operations and have accused the Israeli army of not taking the issue seriously.

Initial data from Jordanian forces recorded 17 interception operations linked to drones during the first half of 2026 in Jordan’s southwestern border area with Israel.

They also recorded 231 smuggling and infiltration attempts and downed 56 drones across various borders during the same period.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told Al Jazeera that Jordanian forces were continuing efforts to prevent drugs from being smuggled into the kingdom. But they are evidently facing more complex activities by drug dealers.

“There is an increase in drug smuggling operations from Israel to Jordan using drones,” he said. “The number of seized drug cases during the current year reached 15,342 cases. Trafficking cases constituted about 28 percent of them, compared with 72 percent for usage cases.”

Israeli media reports indicate that gangs active in the Negev Desert are behind some of the smuggling operations into Jordan, where drugs can fetch higher profits.

There are estimates that 1kg of hashish can sell for approximately 7,500 pounds sterling (almost $10,000), according to the British newspaper The Telegraph, which recently uncovered the drug smugglers’ latest operations. Israeli security services believe that the price of hashish in Jordan is about 15 times higher than in Israel.

Due to widespread disenfranchisement and poverty, elements within Palestinian communities in Israel have been linked to the drug trade, according to reports. Multiple sources have accused Israel of allowing Palestinian towns and cities to become hotbeds of crime to create divisions and prevent calls for greater rights.

Ammar al-Qudah, a member of the Jordanian Senate and retired major-general in the Public Security Directorate, claimed that organised gangs in the Negev had obtained more than 1,000 drones that were originally used for agricultural and security purposes.

“The smuggling networks are linked to other gangs in Jordan, Sinai and the Negev, and rely on a route starting from Sinai, passing through the Negev, and reaching Wadi Araba, in addition to other routes including the Lebanese border with Israel and the Galilee region towards Syria,” he told Al Jazeera.

They are also using a range of sophisticated technology to bypass security on both sides of the border. This includes the use of helium-filled balloons equipped with GPS devices, drones capable of carrying about 50kg of narcotics, including black hashish and crystal meth, al-Qudah said.

He warned that a portion of the black hashish and crystal meth being smuggled into the kingdom is being sold domestically, with the rest going to other markets in the region.

With such high-tech operations, there are accusations that members of Israeli forces know about drug gang activities, based on past experiences in Egypt.

One West Point report said current and former trackers in the Israeli military in the Negev are being recruited by traffickers to provide intelligence to facilitate their operations in Egypt. In 2012, a number of Israeli service personnel were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with drug smugglers across the Egyptian border.

While there is no proof that the same situation is being repeated in Jordan, many have questioned how drones and balloons carrying drugs could cross a heavily surveilled and guarded Israeli border into Jordan.

Jordan’s counternarcotics department, in cooperation with the armed forces, has tracked such cases and made arrests.

Retired Brigadier-General Daifallah al-Daboubi, a strategic and military expert, said Jordan is witnessing a “reverse drug migration”, starting from the Sinai Peninsula, passing through the Negev region, and reaching the kingdom.

“Groups active in Beersheba and the Negev possess great financial capabilities and use advanced smuggling methods, most notably drones,” he said.

The Israeli army’s preoccupation with wars in Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights has provided smugglers with room to manoeuvre on the Jordan border, he added. But he ruled out the direct involvement of the Israeli political or military leadership in any drug smuggling.

Steps taken by Israel to boost security on its eastern border include the establishment of the 96th Division, which began operating in the Jordan Valley in 2025, and the construction of a controversial security barrier with Jordan.

But none of these measures appears to be designed to prevent drugs from leaving Israel; instead, they appear to be designed to prevent weapons and other illicit merchandise from entering the country from Jordan.

The latest attack brings the death toll from US military boat strikes to at least 235 from 70 maritime strikes across the region.

The United States has conducted another strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing four, according to the US military.

US Southern Command said late Sunday that it struck alleged drug traffickers operating along “established narco-trafficking routes” in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, following its standard reporting pattern for military operations of suspected cartels across the multinational maritime zones.

The latest attack brings the death toll from US military boat strikes to at least 235 deaths across 70 attacks, since the administration of US President Donald Trump first launched its counter-narcoterrorism campaign, termed Operation Southern Spear, in September of last year.

At the time, Trump characterised the fight against cartels in Latin America as an active “armed conflict” while defending the strikes as a necessary escalation to curb illicit drug trafficking and reduce fatal US overdoses.

The move comes as United Nations experts warn that the strikes violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.

Despite releasing footage on X showing the explosion that destroyed the moving vessel, the US military has offered no evidence that the targeted boat was ferrying drugs.

The Trump administration has been actively seeking regional security agreements across Latin America to expand joint military operations against what it has designated as criminal cartels.  The deals come under the US-led Shield of the Americas coalition, launched in March. The president has pledged the undertaking will use “unmatched military might” to dismantle drug cartels while simultaneously countering Chinese economic influence in the Western Hemisphere.

During a visit to Panama in August, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to joint counter-crime military operations on their soil, a statement Guatemala quickly disputed to clarify its sovereignty and boundaries within the 19-member alliance.